Adaptive TDMA (time division multiple access) communication systems have been previously designed which dynamically maintain potentially different frequencies between nodes of the communication system using a process of communicating the quality of received signals between the nodes and storing this information so that an optimum frequency band can be selected whereby whenever signal quality deteriorates, an alternate frequency can be selected to provide continued communications. An example of such a system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,822, dated 26 June, 1990, and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. The system outlined in the referenced patent utilized a connectivity phase which could only start a connectivity process on twelve minute intervals distributed at predetermined times throughout the day, and the process used required checking each of a number of prospective frequencies before deciding which signal would be appropriate to use in initial communications. Thus, even under the best propagation conditions, there would be times when a start-up would be attempted immediately after the occurrence of a twelve minute start time interval thereby preventing start-up for as much as almost 24 minutes even when propagation characteristics were favorable. If, in fact, propagation characteristics were unfavorable and other sets of potential frequencies needed to be tried, the connection process could take much longer than could be tolerated in a practical operating environment where nodes of the network need, for some reason or another, to be off-line from time to time and then need to suddenly access the system.